​​​​BelieveEnglish

We’re #1

What kind of country do you think America is?

We are having a presidential election which means we are picking a new leader and, maybe, a new vision for our country. The Republican party is asking us to believe in fear and anger. They are not asking us to understand fear and anger, or to overcome fear and anger. They are asking us to stand on the shoulders of fear and anger, to rise up and feel like giants. ​They are asking us to be, not America, but The ‘Merica. We use ‘Merica talk about a stereotype of America which, like all stereotypes, is hurtful. We use it to talk about things we wish were not so true about us. Like all the guns. We have a lot of guns in America. Some people get very upset about that. The right, the need, the urgency to own a gun is a very ‘Merican thing. They represent independence. I can take care of myself. I can protect myself and I can protect my rights. A slang word for gun is “equalizer”- and in a w ay a gun is certainly that. They makes us all equal, but they diminish us in that they separate us. We are not 100, but 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1…. We’re #1! ​It is a kind of pride. It is not something that makes me proud of my country. It says: I am powerful, I can do whatever I want. My students make me proud of this country. My students are all immigrants. People who come to this country to find a better life. Their faith in the opportunities America offers, and their willingness to work for it. They see America. A place Anybody can come, be welcome, work hard and make better lives for themselves and a better America for all of us.

I see this America too. This America that says, “Welcome. We’re already proud of you.”

What kind of country do you think America is?What kind of country do you want it to be?